Diamondbacks Get First Shot at Old Friend Since Deadline

On Tuesday, the Arizona Diamondbacks will get a chance to face former long-time Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly for the first time since he was traded to the Texas Rangers.

First pitch on Tuesday will be an early 11:35 a.m. Arizona time.

The Diamondbacks are looking to pick up a series win, as they took a clutch ninth-inning victory off the bat (and glove) of Ketel Marte on Tuesday.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs Texas Rangers Pitching Matchup

RHP Zac Gallen (5.31 ERA) vs RHP Merrill Kelly (3.38 ERA)

Kelly has had a bit of a hard time in his first two starts with his new club. He's gone 5.2 and 4.1 innings respectively, giving up six runs between those two starts. Kelly walked five batters his last time out.

Still, he's had a sturdy season, pitching to a 3.38 ERA over 24 starts. He was perhaps the most reliable member of Arizona's battered rotation prior to the Deadline trade that sent him to Texas.

“That’s the fun part about baseball, especially when you’ve been around for a little bit,” Kelly said to AZCentral's Nick Piecoro. “Those guys know how I pitch and I know how they hit.”

D-backs fans likely know Kelly's arsenal fairly well. He throws a low-90s fastball, but can place it just about anyhwere. His best pitch, however, is a hard changeup — a pitch that has just a .185 average against.

Kelly also throws a cutter, sinker, curve and occasional slider. He can beat you in many ways.

Gallen, meanwhile, has looked solid in his last two starts. Despite the ugly overall numbers, he's stacked back-to-back solid outings since the Deadline stress left.

Gallen and Kelly will face each other for the first time. They had become close friends in their time serving as the 1-2 punch of the D-backs' staff.

"[Kelly]'s become one of my really good friends, especially in baseball," Gallen said. "We spend a lot of time off the field together, mainly playing a lot of golf, getting dinners here and there."

"Ultimately, I'm happy for him. I'm happy that he's pitched really well this year. He put himself in a spot to... go and pitch for a contender and see what happens."

Diamondbacks vs Rangers Lineup

(Check back later for lineups.)

Diamondbacks vs Rangers Bullpens

The D-backs got 3.1 effective innings of relief from Jake Woodford Tuesday, so they only needed 1.2 innings of Jalen Beeks to get to recently-recalled flamethrower Juan Morillo, who threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his first career save.

Beeks is likely down after going multiple innings and throwing 25 pitches, but Morillo may be available for a back-to-back.

The Rangers burned four relievers, including two of their leverage arms in Danny Coloumbe and Robert Garcia. Coloumbe and right-hander Shawn Armstrong each worked a back-to-back and will likely be unavailable to manager Bruce Bochy.

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